Brayden

“You’re so much more badass than me,” Shay says. “I hate running in the snow.”

I tear my eyes off the glowing lights of my Christmas tree to survey my sister, who’s in the kitchen doctoring her coffee. It’s not even eight in the morning, but Shay was waiting in the kitchen when I got back from my run. I let her make coffee while I showered and got dressed. “I like running in the cold.” I shrug. “Clears my head.”

“You lost me at I like running. It’s a necessary evil as far as I’m concerned.”

I arch a brow. “You could work out with Carter and me at CrossFit if you hate running so much. You’d probably love it once you got going.”

She shudders, then pulls her mug against her chest as if it can protect her. “And get callouses on my baby-soft hands? I’ll pass.”

I laugh. I haven’t bothered to ask her why she’s here. I know she’s doing her typical sister thing and showing up to talk when no one else knows anything’s bothering me. Usually, I’m grateful for her eerie perception. Today, I’m not sure I’m up for it.

Taking a seat on the couch beside me, she holds her mug in both hands as she folds her legs under herself, and we sip our coffee for a while, enjoying the comfortable silence of the crackling fire and an otherwise empty house.

“Are you ready to give up this quiet?” she finally asks. When I arch a brow in question, she says, “The house won’t be this peaceful with a four-year-old living here.”

I shake my head. “I don’t mind. Noah’s a pretty awesome kid.”

My sister tips her head to the side as she studies me. “Hmm.”

“Stop that,” I growl.

“Stop what?”

“Stop trying to read me. You came over here for a reason. If you have a question, ask it.”

“Really? You’re inviting me to ask personal questions?”

“Aren’t you going to ask them either way? Aren’t you here for a recreational dig into my psyche, followed by a thinly veiled lecture on what you think I should do?” I wave toward myself. “Bring it.”

“Okay, fine. Are you sure about this? I know having Molly stay here makes sense on paper, but if you have feelings for her—”

“I never said I have feelings for her.”

“You didn’t have to. I see the way you look at her.”

I grunt. “You see what you want to see.”

She rocks to the side and bumps her shoulder against mine. “Come on, Brayden, you practically created a whole new business just so you’d have an excuse to bring her back to Jackson Harbor.”

I open my mouth to object but close it again. I always planned to open the tasting room, but the banquet facility idea was born of a New York City conversation with Molly. One of our stops that day was to an event center, and she admitted how much she enjoyed the event-planning side of her not-for-profit work. She told me then that if I ever opened an event center, she wanted first dibs on managing it. She was joking—last spring, her stepfather was still alive and well, and that meant she had no intention of ever returning to Jackson Harbor—but I never forgot about it.

The tasting room morphed into something more because it was a good business decision, but maybe it was convenient that a good business decision also meant getting Molly closer. I won’t deny I wanted that, even if she drew the line in the sand and made it clear that we’d never be more than boss and employee. I knew how much she struggled as a single mom with no family around, and I liked the idea of keeping an eye on her and being able to help when she needed it.

Shay’s grinning at me. “You even get this dopey look on your face when you think about her.”

“You’re the only person in the world who thinks I’m easy to read,” I mutter. And thank God. If everyone else could read my emotions as easily as Shay does, I’d feel like I was walking around cut open all the time.

“If only I could get a read on her,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “I can’t decide if she’s just stuck between a rock and a hard place, or if she likes the idea of being closer to you on some level.”

“Trust me. Her decision to move in has nothing to do with what happened between us.”

“And what did happen? You never talk about it.”

“I told you, we had a few drinks and . . . we connected, I guess. It was just one night.” A mistake. Hell, nothing about it felt like a mistake. “No big deal.”

Shay pulls her phone out of her pocket and plays around on the screen.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m adding up all the times you slept with a woman you didn’t care about.”

I blow out an exasperated breath. “Shut it.”

“This is a tough one.” She purses her lips and wrinkles her brow, the picture of thoughtfulness. “What’s none plus never?”

“Are you really so well versed in my sex life, little sister?”

“I’m well versed in you.” She gives me a pointed look that seems to say, Tell me I’m wrong. But I can’t. I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy. I’ve just never seen the appeal. When I took Molly back to my room, I thought it was the beginning of something.

I was an idiot.

I swallow. “It makes sense to let her stay here. I have plenty of room.” The truth is that I don’t know how Molly really feels about this mess, but of the two options Shay presented for Molly’s move, I’d guess rock and a hard place.

“It’s not going to be weird?”

“It’s a big house.”

Shay takes a long pull from her coffee before shaking her head. “You’re a stubborn ass.”

“Thanks.”

“And I’m afraid you’re a stubborn ass who’s going to end up hurt.”

I have to laugh at that. Molly’s never given me a reason to think we could have a relationship—quite the opposite, actually—so I’m not sure why Shay thinks my heart’s at risk now. “I’ll be fine.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. You’ll just be fine and never go after what you really want.”

I cock my head. “I’ve lost track—are you trying to protect me from Molly or set me up with her?”

She frowns and mutters, “I haven’t decided yet.”

Rising from the couch, I pinch my sister’s nose and shake my head. “I’m a grown boy, sis. Trust me to handle my life by myself.”

Molly

“I’m already so tired,” Bella says, whimpering dramatically as she collapses onto a breakroom couch.

Today is our first Saturday, and we arrived at five a.m. to prepare for a breakfast for the local Kiwanis club. My staff and I ate an early lunch and are wrapping up our break before heading up to start on the second party of the day—an eighty-person luncheon for Jackson Harbor Hospital. We’ll finish cleanup from that just in time to go to tonight’s Jackson Brews employee Christmas party.

“You’ll be fine,” I tell Bella, but I smile, because she did bust her ass this morning. She’s earned a little whine. “Just a few more hours, and then we get the night off.”

“Par-tay!” Austin says, grinning at me.

“My dad won’t let me go to the Christmas party,” Bella says. “He said someone my age has no business spending a Saturday night in a bar.”

I frown. I’ll have to talk to Brayden about that. Every year, they shut down the Jackson Brews bar for the employee Christmas party, but this is the first year we’ve had underage employees. Maybe next year we should do the party in one of the banquet rooms instead.

“That blows,” Austin says from his spot at the table. He’s been playing on his phone but puts it down to look at Bella. “You should come anyway. You’re eighteen, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I still live at home.”

“So? What can your dad really do about it?”

I take a breath and move toward the locker room and away from the conversation. While I certainly want Bella to be able to come to the party, I’d rather not be part of a conversation that encourages her to go against her father’s wishes.

The locker room door swings shut behind me, drowning out the words of their argument. I can’t help but smile as I take in the space.

Knowing how long Saturdays can be in the catering and food service business, Brayden and I decided to dedicate some of our limited space to our employees’ comfort. We wanted there to be a place to relax during breaks, and even shower if they needed to. So in addition to the casual relaxation space on the other side of the door, we invested in this locker room.

I dig through my purse for my lipstick but hesitate when I see my reflection. I look as tired as Bella feels. There are dark bags under my eyes, and my cheeks lack their normal color. It’s been a long week, but I’m almost through it. Considering how well everything’s going with the first banquet center parties, it’s worth a little exhaustion.

I sweep pink over my lips, and the locker room door swings open.

Austin pushes in. “Everyone else went upstairs to clock in.”

I nod, happy to hear my staff didn’t have to be reminded what time their break was over. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

He clears his throat and holds my gaze a beat too long in the mirror.

Frowning, I turn to him. “Are you okay?”

He hesitates, then shakes his head. “I’m fine. I just . . .” He smiles. “You’re a good boss. I thought you should know you’re doing a great job.”

“Oh.” My shoulders sag. For a second there, I thought he’d come in here for something else. I was actually worried about this kid catching me alone when he just wanted to give me a compliment. Man, I’m screwed up. “Thank you, Austin.”

“You’re welcome.” His eyes sweep over me slowly, lingering a little too long at my breasts and hips. “See you upstairs.”

I stare at the door for a solid minute after he goes, trying to shake the slimy feeling that interaction left me with. He’s just a teenage kid trying to butter up his boss. Any awkwardness I felt comes from me and my own baggage.

I shake it off, but make a mental note not to schedule him to work alone with me. At least not until this uneasy feeling has passed.

I have a few minutes before I need to greet the next party, so I head to Brayden’s office. I don’t need to report to him, but since he’s here—cough, workaholic, cough—I might as well let him know how well breakfast went. I stop a few steps outside the door when I hear another voice.

“If Nic’s happy, I’m happy.”

I smile at the sound of Ethan Jackson’s voice. He must have come in to talk about wedding plans. I know I might never get a couple as easy to work with as him and Nic, so I’ve been making sure to enjoy how laidback and easygoing they are.

“Well, if you need anything else, just say the word, and Molly will make it happen.”

I take another step, prepared to reveal myself, when Ethan says, “Speaking of Molly, you feel good about that? I know you didn’t want to hire her, but it seems like she’s doing great.”

I take a step back. Didn’t want to hire me?

“I think it’s okay.” Brayden is silent a beat, and I frown. Okay?

“You don’t have to hide with me,” Ethan says softly. “I get it. I see it when you look at her.”

Brayden groans and mutters a curse. “She’s just so . . .”

I’m frozen in place, waiting, knowing I don’t want to hear him finish that sentence but unable to move my feet.

“On my bad days, I wish I’d never brought her on,” Brayden says. “But I try not to be such a selfish ass most of the time. She’s broken and she doesn’t even know it. If I’d had any idea what kind of baggage she was dealing with, I would have never—”

I take one step back, then another. I don’t want to hear any more. Humiliation roars in my ears. I stumble my way down the hall and toward the banquet room, where my staff is filling water glasses.

I bring a trembling hand to my lips. I hate the idea of anyone thinking of me as broken, but the idea that Brayden sees me that way, that he thinks my messy past makes me somehow less fit for this job? The words are so heavy that I can hardly fill my lungs.

Think about it later.

I lock away the hurt and focus on the job my boss wishes he’d never hired me to do.

Brayden

“You wish you’d never slept with her?” Ethan asks gently.

“I wish I wouldn’t have rushed things that night. I was just another asshole hooking up with her, and it was too easy for her to walk away.”

“And now she’s moving in with you.”

I meet my brother’s eyes, looking for what he’s not saying. My younger brothers were always buddies, their own unit, and then Ethan and I were close, but life got in the way. Hell, maybe my workaholic tendencies got in the way. Or maybe things changed between us after he lost his wife, and I hated that I couldn’t fix it. We’ve only started to reconnect in those old ways since Nic’s been around.

Ethan knows about my night with Molly—knows more than anyone else—and knows I wish more had come of it.

I drag a hand through my hair and stare up at the ceiling. I’m not big on sharing my feelings, but hell, if anyone will understand, it’s Ethan. “At first, the attraction was mostly physical. But seeing her with Noah and working next to her all the time . . . Jesus, she’s the best employee I’ve ever had, and I know we need her here. I know it. But I keep wondering what would have happened if I’d never hired her.”

“If you hadn’t hired her, she’d still be in New York.”

I sigh. “Details. It’s just that she puts the job above anything else, and I wish she wouldn’t. I know I don’t want to.”

Ethan’s eyes go wide, and he shakes his head. “Wow.”

“What?”

“I can’t believe Brayden ‘Workaholic’ Jackson wishes he could put his personal interests ahead of his business.”

I shrug. “It’s my own damn fault.” If I’d taken things slower and we’d not spent the night together, maybe she’d look at me differently now.

“I’m not judging. Hell, it’s refreshing, brother. You deserve a life of more than endless paperwork.”

“It doesn’t change anything. She works for me, and she doesn’t want a relationship with her boss.” She’s made that more than clear.

Ethan folds his arms and smirks at me. “You know, Nic was my employee before she was my girlfriend. Maybe it’s not ideal, but if you really want her and she wants you, I’m sure you can work it out. When it’s real, it’s worth the risk.”

My gaze goes to the hall behind my brother, as if I could magically will her to appear. I see her almost every day, but when she’s close, it feels like I’m waking up. When she’s not, I catch myself finding excuses to go to her. “I’m not sure she wants me in return.”

Ethan shrugs. “She’s moving in with you. I can’t imagine a better time to find out.”